Xbox One gets 10% GPU performance boost without Kinect

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When Microsoft performed a U-turn last month and decided the Kinect sensor didn’t have to be a mandatory inclusion with the Xbox One, lots of people rejoiced. It meant the Xbox One could match the PS4 on price, but it also turns out no Kinect means more hardware performance is being unlocked for use in games.

Microsoft has confirmed that the June version of the Xbox One software development kit (SDK) includes the ability to access an extra 10 percent GPU performance. The reason for this being that this 10 percent was until now reserved for use by the Kinect sensor. With Kinect now no longer mandatory, there’s no need to reserve the performance.

Any developer working on any platform will welcome more performance from a set piece of hardware, but in the case of the Xbox One it is a much needed boost. The PS4 is the better performing machine, as has been seen by the higher resolutions and frame rates being achieved in its games. The Xbox One just can’t match it, but more GPU performance will certainly help bridge the gap.

With Kinect now out of the picture, Microsoft can concentrate on trying to catch the PS4 in terms of console sales. That won’t happen without some exclusive games get announced and released quickly, so all eyes will be on what Team Xbox reveal next week at E3.

Sony is making a lot of noise about what it is set to reveal at E3. If it’s exclusive games and possibly a PS4 price cut, Microsoft is going to have a mountain to climb for the foreseeable future.